Abstract

Effective implementation of competitive tendering has the potential for assuring transparency, accountability, fairness, justice and ethical standards in public works procurement. It promotes sound contract practices and growth of indigenous technology. Furthermore, it can reduce time and cost, promote competition, hamper corruption, and strengthen the public service system. Although, competitive tendering appears to be the most acceptable method of selecting contractors everywhere, its implementation in Chad is facing many challenges despite the reforms put in place in 2003 resulting in a very poor performance of government procurement. The lack of effectiveness assessment of the tendering processes at pre-contract stage is one of the main causes. Previous studies have identified a baseline of 38 standards practices along with five critical phases of the competitive tendering, seven relevant criteria and 13 key related measurable indicators. The adopted method is quantitative strategy. Respondents were asked to pair-wise compare phases, criteria and indicators using an Analytic Hierarchy Process scale and relative and composite weights of all identified variables were computed. Based on these findings, a framework for assessing the effectiveness of competitive tendering process at pre-contract stage is developed. The assessment process involves the assessment of elementary effectiveness at each phase and the overall effectiveness. An application example is given at the end for illustration. In conclusion, the study demonstrated the practical application of AHP in the evaluation of the overall performance in public works procurement. Authors believed that this framework will be adopted by the construction projects managers and recommend its computerization for easy usage.